One of the biggest challenges when supporting students in the gifted program is finding activities that will enrich learning when you are not available. I use Evan-Moor’s Daily Higher Order Thinking Skills with all of my students in grades 1-6. It is a routine that is started in the lower grades, and students become very familiar with the format. Plus, the activities can be really fun!
Critical thinking skills are more important than ever in academic and real-world situations. Daily Higher-Order Thinking provides you with daily activities that build and grow students’ problem-solving skills in engaging formats such as logic and visual puzzles, brainteasers, creative writing, picture comparison, word play, and “what if” questions.
Evan-Moor, Educational Resources, E-books and Workbooks for Schools
You can print the full year, 30 weeks, worth of activities at once as a book, or you can print each week as it approaches. I send each grade-level master to our copy center over the summer. It is copied into a book with a bound and taped spine. You could also copy one week at a time to include in a special section of the gifted support binder.
Time for completion varies by grade level. I quickly review directions in our small group sessions and assign a weekly due date. Most of the students in grades K-4 complete the HOTS book during Morning Work time, 20-30 minutes before the formal start of the day. Students in grades 5 and 6 may not have Morning Work time, so they complete the work when they finish classwork early or during a make up work/study hall block. Occasionally, I shorten the number of HOTS activities assigned and pinpoint areas of strength. For example, my strong readers and writers may be assigned only activities within those categories as a way to build their skills.
I collect the books the following week and do a quick check for completion and accuracy while students work on a soft start activity. I reward completion and effort with smelly stickers which the students like to collect. I mark completion on my data tracker and return the books. If needed, we brainstorm and review the solutions to tricky puzzles.
Each activity is only meant to take 20 minutes or less to complete. Some are quick and simple. However, many are open-ended which can be frustrating for some learners! We talk about ways to tackle the assignments: re-reading the directions, brainstorming possible solutions, and taking a break and returning to the assignment later. It is important to remember that even though these students have shown to be strong in some academic areas, this does not mean that they are strong in all areas including emotional development. My advice is to be supportive and flexible as students navigate gray areas.
You can request a sampler download via email by visiting Evan-Moor’s site here.